2. Pakistan: An overview Total estimated population of Pakistan
for 2010 is over 173 million. Rural population 64% to 36 % 27 : 25
This figure indicates gender inequality in society, because it
reflects either a high rate of premature deaths of females compared
to males, or a cultural preference for male children, or both.
Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 2
3. National Commitments to Equality inAccess to
EducationConstitution 1973 Article 37, the State shall (b) remove
illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education
within the minimum possible period; (c) make technical and
professional education generally available and higher education
equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.Constitutional
Amendment No 18: The state shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in
such manner as may be determined by the law. (Article 25-A,
Constitution of Pakistan). Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana
Iqbal 3
4. National Commitments to Equality inAccess to Education
National Plan of Action (2001-2015) NPA Dakar Framework for Action
The objectives of the NPA are to ensure access to education for
disadvantaged rural and urban population groups, particularly girls
and women; to promote community participation and ownership of
basic education programs; and to improve the relevance and quality
of basic education. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal
4
5. National Commitments to Equality inAccess to Education
National Education Policy (Sep 2009) NEP It recognizes that
Pakistan has persistent gender and rural-urban disparities in
access to education and it aims to revitalize the existing
education system and Enable Pakistan to fulfill its commitments to
the Education for All goals and the Millennium Development Goals
relating to education. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana
Iqbal 5
6. International Commitments to Equalityin Access to Education
Universal Declaration of Convention of the Human Rights Elimination
of All Forms (December 10, 1948) of Discrimination 48 members
Against Women CEDAW (1979) UN General Assembly adopted UDHR free
and Pakistan acceded to compulsory education at CEDAW on March 12,
1996 least in the elementary and Convention of the fundamental
stages Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 6
7. International Commitments to Equalityin Access to
EducationBeijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) In
Particular, the Declaration committed Pakistan and the
international community to promoting people- centred sustainable
development ... through the provision of basic education, life-long
education, literacy and training ... for girls and women (Article
27), and ensuring equal access to and equal treatment of women and
men in education (Article 30). Gender and Education in Pakistan
Farhana Iqbal 7
8. International Commitments to Equalityin Access to Education
World Declaration on Education For All (2000)(also known as the
Jomtien Declaration)Representative from 155 countries Dakar
Framework for Action - April 2004 (164 countries)In particular, the
signatories committed to ensuring that in the learning environment,
the content, processes and context of education must be free of
gender bias,encourage and support equality and respect.This
includes teachers behaviors and attitudes, curriculum and
textbooks, and student interactions. Gender and Education in
Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 8
9. EFA Goalsi. expanding and improving comprehensive early
childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable
and disadvantaged children;ii. ensuring that by 2015 all children,
particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those
belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free
and compulsory primary education of good quality;iii. ensuring that
the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through
equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills
programs;iv. achieving a 50 % improvement in levels of adult
literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to
basic and continuing education for all adults;v. eliminating gender
disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and
achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on
ensuring girls full and equal access to and achievement in basic
education of good quality; andvi. improving all aspects of the
quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that
recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all,
especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. Gender
and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 9
10. International Commitments to Equality in Access to
Education The Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) include 192 members of UNOAchieve universal primary
education is a commitment to achieving equality in access to
primary education for all boys and girls by 2015. Gender and
Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 10
11. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 11
12. Socio-Cultural View Working toward an overall goal of
enabling a democratic culture in Pakistan, inclusion of Gender and
Education sensitize students and policy makers to examine the role
of gender identities in institutions and to promote a democratic
culture by reviewing curriculum and textbooks. A key objective of
the course is to open and explore a space to contest rising
extremism through sound academic research and education activities.
The project delivered all its outputs
13. Rationale Part of the problem is that there is no well-
developed, academically rigorous, institutional space to conserve
the foundations of democracy against fanatical threats. Neither
students, nor policy makers, nor moderate intellectuals have access
to such a space to share information and generate avenues for
action. The youth, in particular, is offered no coherent, locally
grounded understanding of what the fanatical, radical ideology
actually means for their cultural heritage.
14. There are few spaces where this forced identity is being
contested in a sound, intellectual manner. No institution in the
country is dedicated to theorize gender and culture rigorously and
relevant to Pakistani history and heritage. Likewise, there is no
directly gender and culture- related contest to the radical
identity of extremists.
15. Access to Basic Education inPakistan: Key Facts and
FiguresSchoolsTeachersNet enrolment rate Gender and Education in
Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 15
16. Access to Basic Education in Pakistan: Key Facts and
FiguresTable 1: Number of boys, girls and mixed primary schools by
province/region 43.8 % are schools for boys, 31.5 % are schools for
girls and the remaining 24.7 % are schools with Mix
enrolmentSource: Pakistan Education Statistics 2006-07, AEPAM,
Ministry of Education. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana
Iqbal 16
17. In urban areas of Pakistan 27 % of primaryschools are boy
schools, 24 % are girls schoolsand 49 %co-educational schools.In
rural areas, 47 % of primary schools are boysschools, 33 % are
girls schools, and 20 % are co-educational schools. Gender and
Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 17
18. Most provinces/Areas have more male teachers thanfemale
teachers,While in three provinces/Areas: Punjab, AJK andICT, there
are more female teachers than males. Gender and Education in
Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 18
19. The lower % of female teachers in rural areas ofPakistan,
can be attributed to fewer schools for girls inrural areas (and
therefore lower demand for femaleteachers) and also to factors such
as non-availabilityof educated women within the local community
toserve as teacher, security problems and poor housingand transport
in rural areas, which deter non-localwomen from working as teachers
in such areas. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal
19
20. The NERs for girls are consistently lower than boys,
therebyindicating that in Pakistan girls have less access to
primaryeducation than boys. Gender and Education in Pakistan
Farhana Iqbal 20
21. It is clear that NERs for boys are higher than the NERs
forgirls in all four provinces. Gender and Education in Pakistan
Farhana Iqbal 21
22. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 22
23. Urban and rural figures indicates that the NERs of girls
areconsistently lower than the NERs of boys in rural areas, butin
urban areas the NERs of girls are sometimes higher thanthe NERs of
boys.In urban areas of Punjab, for example, the girls NERs
in2006-07 and 2007-08 were higher than the boys NERs. Gender and
Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 23
24. Pakistan has a higher Human Development Index ranking than
Nepaland Bangladesh, compared to these countries and others in the
South andWest Asia region Pakistan has the lowest NERs for both
boys and girls. TheNERs are generally positively correlated with
public expenditure oneducation, indicating that greater expenditure
may lead to higher NERs. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana
Iqbal 24
25. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 25
26. Literacy in Pakistan: Key Facts andFiguresPakistan Social
and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) literacy ratesfor girls and
women are consistently lower than rates for boys and men. Gender
and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 26
27. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 27
28. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 28
29. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 29
30. Current Level of Gender Equality inAccess to
EducationLiteracy is a core component of basic education,
butdespite the Governments commitments to providingbasic education
to all, Pakistan has one of thehighest rates of illiteracy in the
world.At present, the overall literacy rate of those aged 15and
above is 56 %.Furthermore, significant gender disparity is
evidentin the data of latest PSLM Survey (2008-09) thatindicates
only 45% women are literate compared with69% literate males in
Pakistan. Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 30
31. In the EFA Development Index (EDI), a composite measureof
overall progress towards meeting the Dakar EFA goals,Pakistan is
ranked 118 out of 129 countries, and is thereforeranked among the
countries with low EDI.14Furthermore, Pakistan is ranked lower than
other countriesin the South Asian region Gender and Education in
Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 31
32. Reasons for Gender Disparity in Accessto Education in
Pakistan Poverty and absence of free and compulsory education for
all (up to March 2004) Low education budget (to raise its education
budget up to 4% of GDP, but on average its spending has remained
around 2% of GDP during last 20 years.) Cultural norms restricting
freedom of movement of girls and women (500-metre increase in
distance from the closest school admitting girls and this distance
penalty accounts for 60% of the gender gap) Gender and Education in
Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 32
33. Continued . Gender division of labour Cultural preference
for male children Shortage of schools (parents generally prefer
schools to be sex-segregated) Shortage of female teachers (girls
should be taught by female teachers) Conflict (Ongoing conflict
between various groups in parts of the country) Gender and
Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 33
34. What Needs to be Done Spend more on education 2 % of GNP on
education is insufficient. The Government must commit to allocating
7 % of GNP to the education sector BUT A recent analysis of budget
and public sector expenditure on education has revealed that
spending on education has actually declined, during 2007-2009,
which is a matter of great concern. Build more schools and train
more teachers Make primary education free and compulsory for both
boys and girls Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal
34
35. Continued . Introduce flexible school timings and
region-specific school calendars Improve advocacy Establish a
monitoring and evaluation mechanism Improve coordination Ensure
policies support equal opportunities for employment and equal wages
Gender and Education in Pakistan Farhana Iqbal 35
36. Your Opinions/Suggestions Gender and Education in Pakistan
Farhana Iqbal 36